If you decide to breast feed your baby it is recommended that you have a breast pump to help express the milk in case you need to be away from them for extended periods of time.
The task of looking for a good pump is daunting.
Just a few years ago there were just a few to chose from. Now the selection is vast with each pump designed to be used for many reasons.
I personally believe that if you are going to pump, the best choice is always a double electric pump. Pumping both sides simultaneously will save time, which will be precious to your after the baby is born.
Here is a list of the most popular choices and new products that have recently hit the market.
1. Medela Breast Pumps: Medela has a pump that will suit every moms needs. They have categorized their pumps into daily use, occasional use and personal, which is recommended for moms who need to pump just once or twice per day, or a few times per week. All of Medela’s pumps and bottles are made from biosphenol-free plastics, which make them the natural choice for green parents.
The Pump In Style was designed for moms who are going back to work and need to pump many times a day to keep their supply up. Each double pump kit is concealed in a microfiber bag that is insulated on the inside for storing the expressed milk. This pump is very popular because of it reliability and ease of use.
Occasional Use Single or Double electric pump: These two pumps were designed for moms who only need to pump once or twice a day.
I have the single electric pump and it works fine but not great. The motor is loud, which makes conversation nearly impossible when pumping. Both pumps have a conversion kit to allow new moms to pump manually if a power source is not available. This method is tiring after just a few minutes due to the awkward set-up.
Personal Use Manual Breast pumps: Medela has many choices available for moms who wish to use manual pumps. In 2005 the introduced the Harmony, which I have, to rave reviews. I used to use it when I had blocked ducts because it was so powerful.
The harmony doesn’t work like a normal manual pump. You need to use a rhythmic pumping pattern to get the full effect 2-Phase Expression.
2. Ameda: Most hospitals have either Medela or Ameda breast pumps available for their new moms to use. I was lucky enough to experience both kinds and in the end I preferred the Ameda. Like the pump in style by Medela, this pump also comes in a tote to conceal it’s purpose. Unlike the Medela, the stand alone double electric pump is just as good as the tote model, but half the price.
I preferred the no frills model and put it in a diaper bag when I needed to travel with it. This pump is quiet, efficient and lightweight(weighs just 1 pound).
3. Advent Isis: Advent is very well known for their bottles. Quite a few years ago they came out with a manual pump that became popular with breastfeeding moms due to its ease of use. They have now entered into the double electric market with their Avent Isis iQ Duo Breast Pump.
Like the other pumps it competes with, the Isis iQ is hidden inside a tote. It boasts an Ultra quiet motor and a patented technology that was designed to improve milk production – natural let-down, efficient double pumping and variable control settings for ultimate comfort.
4. Whisper Wear: This pump is fairly new to the market. It is the only hands free breast bump that claims to be able to match the effectiveness of a professional-grade pump by using a microprocessor-controlled motor that more closely emulates a baby’s suckling pattern than any other pump.
Packaged inside a microfibre bag, the whisper wear pumps are lighter weight, smaller, less cumbersome, quieter than other pumps and compatible with any standard bra.
5. Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Electric Breast Pump – Dr. Brown’s has just entered the breast pump market. They are known for their bottles. This pump uses the Whittlestone Hospital Technologies, which uses a continuous one-way airflow that draws air away from the breast rather than using a suck-and-release method that can tug on the breast.
The gentle touch of the Dr. Brown’s pump is said to provide ‘unmatched comfort’ as it helps you to achieve a more natural let-down and increases your milk supply.
It uses a Universal Connector that has double threads to pump into ALL standard AND wide-neck Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow bottles.
Resist the urge to buy a cheap pump from your local Walmart, Target, or Zellers. The better grade pumps will cost you a bit extra, but they will also last through 3 kids and give you a decent re-sale at the end. The wrong pump could damage your breasts or do other unknown damage. Anything that looks to go to be true…probably is. Splurge on the better product and you won’t regret it.
FYI: Whisper Wear is no longer making breast pumps.
Nice Information about the breast pumps which you provided on this blog. It is very Informative for most mothers who are seeking for the breast pumps and its advantages.
There is a new pump on the market called Hygeia that is designed to be eco-friendly and can be safely shared between mothers. Their motto is “less pumps in the dump.” They also have a pump recycling program where moms can send back their old pumps when they are done and the pumps are refurbished by the company and donated to indigent mothers.
Breastfeeding guru Kathleen Huggins of the Nursing Mothers Companion recently profiled them.
Ameda has a new website that they sell their breast pumps through. AmedaDirect.com
Indeed, the choice these days is not very tough, even then I would rely on some of the old players medela and ameda!